“Hold your horses. Don’t get too excited.” I frown before she continues. “Hedoesn’t.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah.”
I release the dish in the sink, drying my hands with the discarded tea towel, fully facing her.
“I thought Mason wanted kids?” I ask, confused.
She nods. “He did. He always wanted them.” She scoffs. “Probably more than I did.”
“So, what happened?”
She clears her throat. “I guess he changed his mind.”
“Just like that?” I lean back against the counter. “After how many years of marriage?”
“Eight years,” she says, her gaze fixed on the tile floor. “Said he’d been thinking about it for a while now. That maybe our life is perfect as it is—just the two of us, happy in our jobs, the freedom to do what we want whenever we want.”
“And you?”
“I always thought we’d have them by now. We’ve been married long enough. We’ve seen the world. To be honest, I’m over the traveling, especially after our childhood and moving around all the time for Dad’s work. I’m happy in my job. I feel settled. But I’m thirty-five this year, Max. My body has its own timeline. And the longer I wait… I don’t think I want to wait around for something that might never come.”
“Do April and Gemma know?”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t told them anything yet.”
“Are you going to?”
“Eventually, maybe. April’s just got engaged, and I don’t want to bring the mood down with my problems. I don’t want them to think differently of Mason. He’s their friend too.”
“They’reyourfriends, weasel.”
“I’ll tell them when I’m ready.” Her voice is final, so I don’t bother arguing. Instead, I pull her into a hug, feeling her shoulders shake.
“Have you tried counseling?” I ask into her hair.
“I’m so sick of crying,” she says, pulling back and wiping her tears. “He doesn’t want to try counseling. He says there’s nothing to discuss.”
“Nothing to discuss? Look at you. You’re bloody upset,” I say, growing agitated.
“I’m kind of counting on him changing his mind. We’ve gone through phases over the years of wanting kids and not wanting them, but we always agreed we’d have them, eventually. I’m hoping this is another phase.”
“Is it a deal breaker?” I ask carefully.
“I hope not,” she whispers. “I love Mason, and I’ve wanted to be a mother since I was a little girl. You know that.” She exhales. “I just thought I’d have a baby by now. And working as a teacher? I see the way the children run toward their parents who wait for them by the school gate at the end of the day.Iwant that.”
“Did he say when he changed his mind?”
“Apparently he’s felt this way for a few years.”
“And when did he tell you?”
She pauses, hesitating to answer me.
“Weasel,” I urge.
“A month ago.”
